


five years

by parkerprotectionprogram



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), everybody needs a hug, inspired by watermelon sugar for some reason??, its kinda sad, y/n needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 18:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21462826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkerprotectionprogram/pseuds/parkerprotectionprogram
Summary: manhattan comes apart at the seams and then you know nothing
Kudos: 3





	five years

**Author's Note:**

> it’s been like five years since i last posted but fuck my writer’s block was determined to keep me from writing. but our lord and saviour harry edward styles came to the rescue!! watermelon sugar invoked so many fucking feelings in me and singlehandedly cured my maudlin-ness. i turn 18 in a few days and the thought of being legal terrifies me but that’s another story!! endgame came out months ago and i already wrote an endgame based fic but i guess this song just inspired one more! i hope you like it!!

You think that perhaps the world bursting into flames would’ve been less scary. The moment Peter conveniently disappears amidst the chaos on the school bus at the appearance of an alien ship in the middle of Manhattan, your heart drops and you know then you’re not going to come back from this the same. It’s hours later when you’re proved right, watching in horror as your classmates turn to ash in front of your very eyes. 

Manhattan comes apart at the seams, and you scramble out into the street, heart in your throat as alarms blare in the street and anguished cries fill the air as the citizens of New York watch their loved ones disappear, despite their vain attempts to catch them, granules of dust slipping through fingertips and staining tear-streaked cheeks. You find it hard to breathe, thoughts racing through your mind a mile a minute. Peter, your family, your classmates. _What the fuck is happening?_

And then you know nothing.

Five years. 

When you’re brought back, you find out that’s the amount of time that’s passed. You struggle with it. It’s hard to believe. It feels like mere seconds have passed when you materialise back. But Tony Stark is dead, and Peter Parker is nowhere to be found. 

At least, he’s nowhere to be found where you’re concerned.

You figure he’s dealing with his grief. You all are. And so you give him his space, working through your own issues in therapy. Your very world has been turned upside down and ransacked and you’re not sure whether the outcome was for the worse or the best. Your family has aged in your absence, and it weighs down your heart, seeing the streaks of grey that run through their hair, lines beginning to make their appearance known on their face.

It’s a month before you feel truly secure enough to march up to the Parkers’ new residence and all but bang on the door, demanding to be let in. Your cheeks grow warm in mortification when May Parker opens the door, eyes lighting up at the sight of you and sweeping you into a hug that makes you feel for a moment nothing can touch you. She ushers you inside and knowingly jerks her head towards Peter’s room.

Walking into the room, you realise just how underprepared you are for this confrontation. 

The room is a mess. Messier than usual, anyway. Peter’s clothes lay all over the floor, the wardrobe door is open a crack and you see he’s stuffed most of his stuff in there, spilling out. The blinds are closed, the only light in the room emanating from the screen of Peter’s phone. The boy in question sits on his bed, staring at the blue light absently. You think you can hear your heart crack in your chest.

“Peter.” 

You don’t think you have any more tears left to cry. Your body feels exhausted, the grief has settled deep in your bones like lead but the sight of the boy you’ve grown to love, eyes bloodshot and skin pale, makes you think twice.

“God, Peter, what the fuck?” you whisper, throat tight with the effort of keeping your tears at bay.

His eyes flick up to meet yours and you see him shrink in on himself even more, shoulders going taut and inhaling shakily. The steps you take toward him feel like you’ve weights strapped to your feet, but you make it to the side of his bed, dropping to your knees. Your hand lifts, reaching towards him but you hesitate, unsure whether he’ll reject your touch. Laying it gently on his shoulder, you hold your breath and gauge his response. 

He doesn’t make any move to push you away, and encouraged, you slowly raise your hand to touch his cheek, turning his face to yours.

“Where are you?” you search his eyes pleadingly, your own stinging with the tears you’ve failed to hold back. He leans in and rests his head on your shoulder, shoulders heaving but he makes no noise, trembling arms coming to circle your waist.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers and you sniff, hand coming to hold the back of his head as you shake your own in denial. You pull back, cradling his face.

“Don’t apologise, it’s not your fault.” you insist firmly, though you’re unsure what exactly he’s apologising for but you get the feeling it’s weighing on him more than you know.

He falls silent but doesn’t let go of you, if only tightening his arms and you hug him back just as fiercely. The tears that roll down your cheeks drop onto his neck and you shake in his arms, the two of you trying to put yourselves back together in the dark of his small room. 

Much later, when the sun has set and you’ve moved onto the bed, his arm still around your waist and face tucked into your neck, you whisper into the darkness, sure he’s fallen asleep in your arms. Your fingers card through his hair as you spill the contents of your heart under the cover of night.

“It’s always been you, you know that? Peter Parker. And when you disappeared I think my heart just about gave out. I don’t know what I’d do if something had happened to you. And that’s the stupidest thing ever, right? You’re fucking Spider-man. You get yourself into trouble every other day.”

You sigh, looking up at the faint green tinge of the glow in the dark stickers left over from the previous residents most likely, too old to have been put up when the Parkers had moved in.

“Our world is...a mess, Peter. I hate that it is. It makes no sense to me and I’m still trying to figure it out and you are too. I just – I hope you’ll let me figure it out with you. You don’t have to do it alone y’know.”

A beat passes and you huff out a quiet laugh, eyelids beginning to weigh down.

“I don’t even know what I’m saying. I love you. It’s always been you. There’s no one else I want by my side through this clusterfuck.”

You sigh and adjust yourself in his grip, cuddling closer. His arms tighten unconsciously around you and you grin sleepily, head lolling to the side against his.

“Goodnight, Peter.”


End file.
